Fiber Cement Siding Reviews

See all of our fiber cement siding reviews from industry professionals and consumers alike. See what they say about Hardie Board, Hardie Plank, Certainteed, Nichiha and more. Our fiber cement siding reviews are opinions only and needed be taken as only that. They do, however, represent siding industry insiders and past consuemrs. For additional information, check out fiber cement siding cost.

Fiber Cement Siding Reviews | #1

My wife and I remodeled our Dutch Colonial and orignially were going to use Hardie Plank because of its popularity (at least in the Virginia area). I actually didn’t even realize that there were other brands, but soon began to discover that other companies produced a fiber cement siding. So we then changed to Nichiha because of its thickness, which matched better with the style of our home. (I think Hardie now offers a thicker line…) The Nichiha had a more substantial weight to it, which put our minds at ease as far as durability.

The Nichiha and the Hardie were very similar in price. Nichiha fiber cement siding seems to be a bit more smooth whereas Hardie has more of a shake texture.

Dale – Consumer – from 2008

Fiber Cement Siding Reviews | #2

I have done a lot of fiber cement siding jobs and one piece of advice for buyers and contractors is to buy unfinished panels and put a color finish on on site. There are two parts to this in order to insure a lasting finish. 1. You must prime the boards with a bonding primer like Killz or I like the one put out by Sherwin Williams. 2. Paint the exterior coating or finish using a good quality product like Tex Cote or a polyurea based product which lasts a long time and is UV resistant (again Sherwin Williams has one I really like).

Jim – Siding Contractor – from 2010




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Additional Review Pages

James Hardie Reviews

Nichiha Siding Reviews

Alside Reviews

Crane Reviews

Certainteed Fiber Cement Siding Reviews

Back in 2006, I installed 2500 square feet of Certainteed fiber cement and within three months there were discoloration and chalking issues that I had to basically eat the cost of. Fast forward for nine more months and shrinking on the end joints and the panels were cupping between the studs sixteeen inches on center. The funny thing was when we installed the job one of the company’s representatives told us the installation was perfect. So nine months later they send someone else out who basically tells us the installation was improperly done (or that there was a moisture problem inside the house).

I’ve installed Hardie Board on numerous homes using the exact same technique and never had any problems. I would never use Certainteed again, I can’t afford to!

Dan – Siding Contractor – from 2009

Fiber Cement Siding Reviews | #4

This is only my opinion, since I know a lot of guys who swear by the stuff, but I’m not a big fan of fiber cement siding. The planks are not beveled and so there are gaps below each course. The fiber cement is not rigid enough to cover any waviness to a wall. It really draws out sheathing or framing issues. I do think the material looks good from the sidewalk, but I just don’t feel that it compares to wood.

Brody – Siding Contractor – from 2009